Well.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
After using Metformin and following the low carb diet for quite some time, and doing well with it, I have had to change my diet to the DASH (Dietary Approach to Stopping Hypertension)
Why, you ask? (You did. I heard you.)
Obviously, hypertension. But it's not quite that simple.
Over Thanksgiving weekend my husband and I started the Christmas season with our annual performances of Santa and Mrs. Claus, which we absolutely love. It was unseasonably warm, so we saw more children than ever, outside in the park, and it was purely a magical night.
Next morning I woke up with a very sore throat. And as the weekend progressed it became clear that I had, in addition, a double ear infection. I haven't had one of those in years and had forgotten how excruciating they can be--it is no wonder babies scream the way they do.
So I went to the doctor and got some meds for the ears. And when the ear infections were gone I had rebounded into bronchitis. 'Tis the season, right?
So I got a different antibiotic.
And another week went by and I got worse.
So I got a different antibiotic. And some steroids.
And I got worse.
So I got yet another antibiotic, more steroids, prescription codeine syrup, and started with nebulizer treatments (it was clear that it wasn't asthma but we were desperate to find the magic formula.)
I kid you not when I say that I sounded like I was in the end stages of TB or emphysema or something.
Finally, in the NINTH week of all this my doctor decided to do a complete med review (I had been seen in two different walk-in clinics, plus by his own PA, and hadn't actually seen him.) He looked at all the different attempts, turned around and said that clearly antibiotics were no longer the answer. I experienced a moment of Oh-My-God-I'm-going-to-die, when he said he suspected it was a drug reaction, something called the Lisinopril cough. I had taken that drug for ten years and had never heard of the cough, but apparently it's a side effect for some patients, and 25% more likely to happen to women, and to someone with compromised lung function to begin with, I was a sitting duck.
I am never to take Lisinopril again. It's actually listed on my chart as an allergy, to be sure I'll never be prescribed it by anyone again. I can live with that.
So then....(are you still with me?) we began the blood pressure drug dance.
Lisinopril is an ACE-inhibitor. I had been taking that, as well as a beta blocker, so we first attempted doubling the dose of that.
Nope. Readings for the following week soared. Like 200s/100s. VERY scary.
Then we tried a different drug in addition to the beta blocker.
Nope. Readings remained dangerously high.
Then we doubled the dose of the preceding attempt.
Nope.
Finally, we added a third drug. THREE!
(This, by the way, was the reason I went on Metformin to begin with, because I have insulin resistance and I hoped if I could lose a significant amount of weight, my blood pressure would drop and render the meds obsolete. I'm still hoping that will be the case.)
Bingo, we have a winner. I now have readings such as 113/79.
But I still don't want to have to take all those meds.
So, DASH diet it is. And you know what, it is also good for easing/reducing other problems such as type 2 diabetes (which I'm trying to prevent) and arthritis (which I have had since the age of 18) and asthma (which I have had since birth.) I mean, THIS IS THE PERFECT DIET FOR ME! (IS IT LOUD IN HERE? WHY AM I YELLING?)
So away we go. I hope to find lots of help and recipes here, and I've checked out library books and bought e-books, too. And it's the plan for all three of us, because we are all at risk (husband's parents were both diabetic, and Mom had a stroke and Daddy died of a heart attack and daughter's birth mother is diabetic and has had a stroke.)
My weight is up (steroids!) but I feel so much better. I have decaffeinated myself and I have cut back on sodium and sugar. Now that I am not a stroke risk, I'm allowed to work out again, and I am. I have always been a firm believer in improving my health every way I can when it comes to diet and exercise, and my doctor is pleased that I'm being proactive. And he is pleased that I am not angry about how long it took to get the diagnosis (the cough is almost completely gone, hallelujah!) because it was easily missed, since I had actually been sick in the beginning and hello, bronchitis.
And the food is SO good, like lunch today--a salad with grilled chicken and kidney beans, or dinner last night--grilled fish, green beans and spinach, and a baked potato.
Who's with me?
